The design of the Musco Center for the Arts at Chapman University creates a place for the musical arts to thrive on campus. The new 1,000 seat concert hall is a multi-purpose facility designed first and foremost for music, but supporting the dramatic arts as well. Working with our acoustician, we have created a room for music in a multi-purpose theater that creates the look of a pure concert hall through the integration of an orchestra shell and multi-part pit lift, allowing for musicians to play further into the audience chamber, creating a synergy between audience and performer. The design of the shell merges and blurs the separation between stage and audience chamber, creating the visual perception of a single room concert hall. Because of the acoustic design, when the room is configured in concert mode, the stagehouse is completely integrated into the “concert shell” making the room feel more intimate and reverberant. While excellent in the symphonic mode, the hall will also successfully support touring product and university productions as well.

Front of House Theater Accommodations:
• 88,142-square-foot state-of-the-art theater
• 1,044 seat capacity - Orchestra 600/Mezzanine 208/
Balcony 236
• Three-Level lobby with box office and concessions
• Two balconies with wraparound boxes
• Grand lobby staircase with chandelier
• Exterior lobby balconies with campus and
plaza views
• The Bette and Wylie Aitken Arts Plaza for
pre-function uses, special gatherings and
outdoor performances
• The Milan Panic Amphitheatre and Plaza for
distinctive outdoor events
• The Performer’s Piazza for post event
receptions and celebrations
• Julianne Argyros Orchestra Hall
• Thomas E. and Sharon J. Malloy
Grand Lobby
• Zeinab Dabbah and Daniel Temianka
Mezzanine Lobby
• Marc and Eva Stern Balcony Lobby
• Women of Chapman Stage
• Doy and Dee Henley Art Gallery Alcove
• Steeve and Helen Kay Family Foundation
Streaming Audio/Video Electronic System
(K-SAVE)

Project Scope: Planning/Programming & Design for New Construction